Global seahorse trade defies export bans under CITES action and national legislation

Foster, Sarah J.; Kuo, Ting-Chun; Wan, Anita Kar Yan; Vincent, Amanda C. J.

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2019.01.014

Cited by 44 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Findings in this study reinforce arguments that a simple ban on extraction or use may do little for conservation, particularly for incidentally caught species (Foster et al, 2019; Tolotti et al, 2015), such as seahorses. Despite the imposition of trade bans, local people are often driven to obtain wildlife illegally, because they are readily available and offer a source of secondary income (Pires & Moreto, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Catch and trade bans for seahorses can be negated by non‐selective fisheries

Vaidyanathan

Zhang

Ramkumar

et al. 2020

Aquatic Conservation

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All seahorse species (genus Hippocampus) are listed under Schedule I of India's Wild Life Protection Act, making all capture and trade of seahorses illegal. In the more than 15 years since the ban, little work has been done to assess its effects on seahorse conservation. Between 2015 and 2017, fisheries and trade surveys were conducted along the south‐east coast of India, in the state of Tamil Nadu, historically known to be a hub for seahorse catches and trade. Seahorses were primarily landed as bycatch, although in greater quantities by traditional drag nets than as trawl bycatch. Total annual catches were estimated between 4.98 million and 13.64 million seahorses, 87% of which were caught by active non‐selective gear. Generalized additive models revealed that seahorse catch per unit effort had non‐linear relations with depth and latitude, and were higher in biogenic habitats, with active, bottom‐used, and non‐selective gears (e.g. trawls). The illegal nature of the trade in seahorses hampered an understanding of trade routes and trade volumes. Catch estimates indicated that 11.21–30.31 tonnes of seahorses probably entered trade, yet interviews with traders only documented trade of about 1.6 tonnes. Fishers reported a decreasing availability of seahorses. Since most seahorses come from bycatch in persistent fisheries that are not directly affected by the ban on seahorse capture, this decline is likely to represent a population decline. A fishery and trade ban for incidentally caught species, particularly in a poorly regulated fishery, appears to add little conservation value. There needs to be a shift in the management approach, moving from a ban towards spatial and temporal restrictions, and toward enforcing existing fishery regulations.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Catch and trade bans for seahorses can be negated by non‐selective fisheries

Vaidyanathan

Zhang

Ramkumar

et al. 2020

Aquatic Conservation

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“…are used globally in traditional medicine (Fig. 3b), with the largest demand coming from China and Taiwan (Foster et al 2019). Dried seahorses are used as a remedy for a variety of medical conditions in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including sexual dysfunction and difficult childbirth (Rosa & Defavari 2013).…”

Section: Category Motivation Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…People buy these plants as a hobby and out of an aesthetic appreciation for their beauty Figure 3. Motivations associated with the purchase of (a) songbirds (Jepson et al 2011;Regueira & Bernard 2012;Anggraini 2017;Souto et al 2017), (b) seahorses (Martin-Smith & Vincent 2006;Kumaravel et al 2012;Foster et al 2019), and (c) wild-sourced orchids (Liu et al 2014;Hinsley et al 2017;Williams et al 2018). (Fig.…”

Section: Category Motivation Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motivations for the use and consumption of wildlife products

Thomas‐Walters

Hinsley

Bergin

et al. 2020

Conservation Biology

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The dominant approach to combating the illegal wildlife trade has traditionally been to restrict the supply of wildlife products. Yet conservationists increasingly recognize the importance of implementing demandside interventions that target the end consumers in the trade chain. Their aim is to curb the consumption of wildlife or shift consumption to more sustainable alternatives. However, there are still considerable knowledge gaps in understanding of the diversity of consumer motivations in the context of illegal wildlife trade, which includes hundreds of thousands of species, different uses, and diverse contexts. Based on consultation with multiple experts from a diversity of backgrounds, nationalities, and focal taxa, we developed a typology of common motivations held by wildlife consumers that can be used to inform conservation interventions. We identified 5 main motivational categories for wildlife use: experiential, social, functional, financial, and spiritual, each containing subcategories. This framework is intended to facilitate the segmentation of consumers based on psychographics and allow the tailoring of interventions-whether behavior change campaigns, enforcement efforts, or incentive programs-to the specific context in which they will be used. Underlining the importance of consumer research and collaborating with local actors is an important step toward promoting a more systematic approach to the design of demand reduction interventions.

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“…After making a negative NDF CITES countries have often suspended exports (through bans or zero quotas) to avoid violating their duty under the Convention (Foster et al. ). However, the real issue from a conservation perspective is what a country does after it suspends trade.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further complicating matters, suspensions often drive trade underground rather than stopping it (Foster et al. ). That said, Thailand responded to the RST process—and the country's limited progress on recommendations—by announcing just such a suspension of exports for all seahorse species on 1 January 2016, even in the face of continued heavy bottom trawling and associated seahorse bycatch (CITES ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Realities of offering advice to governments on CITES

Aylesworth

Foster

Vincent

2020

Conservation Biology

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What happens when those who provide conservation advice are required to take policy and management action based on that advice? Conservation advocates and scientists often try to prompt regulatory change that has significant implications for government without facing the challenge of managing such change. Through a case study, we placed ourselves in the role of the government of Thailand, facing obligations to seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). These obligations include ensuring that its exports of seahorses do not damage wild populations. We applied a CITES-approved framework (which we developed) to evaluate the risks of such exports to 2 seahorse species. We used the framework to evaluate the pressures that put wild populations of the species at risk; whether current management mitigates the risk or offsets these pressures; and whether the species is responding as hoped to management policy. We based our analysis on information in published and grey literature, local knowledge, citizen science data, results of government research, and expert opinion. To meet CITES obligations, exports of both species would need to be prohibited until more precautionary adaptive management emerged. The risk of any exports of Hippocampus trimaculatus was above a tolerable level because of a lack of appropriate management to mitigate risks. In contrast, the risk of any exports of Hippocampus kuda could become tolerable if monitoring were put in place to assess the species' response to management. The process we developed for Authorities to determine risk in response to CITES guidelines was challenging to implement even without the need for government to consider social implications of conservation action. Despite the imperfections of our risk evaluation, however, it still served to support adaptive management. Conservationists need to keep implementation in mind when offering advice.Resumen: ¿Qué ocurre cuando se requiere que quienes proporcionan consejos para la conservación realicen * Address correspondence to Lindsay Aylesworth,

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Global seahorse trade defies export bans under CITES action and national legislation

Cited by 44 publications

References 30 publications

Catch and trade bans for seahorses can be negated by non‐selective fisheries

Catch and trade bans for seahorses can be negated by non‐selective fisheries

Motivations for the use and consumption of wildlife products

Realities of offering advice to governments on CITES

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